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Long Take
A multifaceted portrait of the great Japanese director
For years, Akira Kurosawa resisted writing about himself. “It would turn out to be nothing but talk about movies,” he said. “In other words, take myself, subtract movies, and the result is zero.” The memoir he finally started serializing in 1978, Something like an Autobiography, ended with Rashomon, the film that launched him on the world’s stage in 1950. Long Take, first published in Japan shortly after Kurosawa’s death in 1998, at last tells the story of the rest of his life.
By turns intimate, provocative, and revealing, Long Take creates a dynamic portrait of Kurosawa from his own writings; his conversations with writer Inoue Hisashi and director Yamada Yōji; and essays by his daughter and colleague Kurosawa Kazuko, who details the collaborative history of the “Kurosawa crew.” It features a wealth of industry lore, cultural reference points, inside jokes with other filmmakers and writers, and backstories for his own productions, from the earliest to the last. Of particular interest to all cinephiles is an annotated list of Kurosawa’s 100 favorite films.
A survey of Kurosawa’s prodigious career, this book situates the visionary in the media milieu of his youth, in the literature and performing arts of twentieth-century Japan and Hollywood, and among the myriad films he loved, admired, and referenced, including Japanese silent film and comedy as well as productions from India, Iran, and Soviet-era Russia. Now available to English readers for the first time, Long Take offers a lasting picture of the peerless filmmaker in his element.
For years, Akira Kurosawa resisted writing about himself. “It would turn out to be nothing but talk about movies,” he said. “In other words, take myself, subtract movies, and the result is zero.” The memoir he finally started serializing in 1978, Something like an Autobiography, ended with Rashomon, the film that launched him on the world’s stage in 1950. Long Take, first published in Japan shortly after Kurosawa’s death in 1998, at last tells the story of the rest of his life.
By turns intimate, provocative, and revealing, Long Take creates a dynamic portrait of Kurosawa from his own writings; his conversations with writer Inoue Hisashi and director Yamada Yōji; and essays by his daughter and colleague Kurosawa Kazuko, who details the collaborative history of the “Kurosawa crew.” It features a wealth of industry lore, cultural reference points, inside jokes with other filmmakers and writers, and backstories for his own productions, from the earliest to the last. Of particular interest to all cinephiles is an annotated list of Kurosawa’s 100 favorite films.
A survey of Kurosawa’s prodigious career, this book situates the visionary in the media milieu of his youth, in the literature and performing arts of twentieth-century Japan and Hollywood, and among the myriad films he loved, admired, and referenced, including Japanese silent film and comedy as well as productions from India, Iran, and Soviet-era Russia. Now available to English readers for the first time, Long Take offers a lasting picture of the peerless filmmaker in his element.
240 pages, Paperback
Published February 3, 2026
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About the author
Akira Kurosawa
73 books231 followers
Rashomon
(1950),
The Seven Samurai
(1954), and
Ran
(1985), set in feudal Japan of director Akira Kurosawa, greatly influenced American and European filmmaking.
This producer, screenwriter, and editor, regarded of the most important and influential in the history of cinema, directed thirty in a career, spanning 57 years.
Following a brief stint as a painter, Kurosawa entered the industry in 1936. After years of working as an assistant and scriptwriter, he made his debut in 1943 during World War II with the popular action film Sanshiro Sugata, also known as Judo Saga. After the war, the critically acclaimed Drunken Angel (1948), in which Kurosawa cast then-unknown actor Toshirō Mifune in a starring role, cemented the reputation of the most important young filmmakers in Japan. The two men went to collaborate on another 15 films.
Rashomon, which premiered in Tokyo in August 1950, and which also starred Mifune, on 10 September 1951 surprisingly won the golden lion at the Venice film festival and was subsequently released in Europe and North America. The commercial and critical success opened up western markets for the first time to the products of the industry, which in turn led to international recognition for other artists. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Kurosawa included a number of highly regarded films, such as Ikiru (1952) and Yojimbo (1961). After the mid-1960s, his much less prolific later work, including his penultimate epic, Kagemusha (1980), continued to win awards, including the Palme d'Or, more often abroad.
In 1990, he accepted the academy award for lifetime achievement. Posthumously, AsianWeek magazine and Cable News Network named him "Asian of the century" in the "arts, literature, and culture" category and cited him as "one of the [five] people who contributed most to the betterment of Asia in the past 100 years."
This producer, screenwriter, and editor, regarded of the most important and influential in the history of cinema, directed thirty in a career, spanning 57 years.
Following a brief stint as a painter, Kurosawa entered the industry in 1936. After years of working as an assistant and scriptwriter, he made his debut in 1943 during World War II with the popular action film Sanshiro Sugata, also known as Judo Saga. After the war, the critically acclaimed Drunken Angel (1948), in which Kurosawa cast then-unknown actor Toshirō Mifune in a starring role, cemented the reputation of the most important young filmmakers in Japan. The two men went to collaborate on another 15 films.
Rashomon, which premiered in Tokyo in August 1950, and which also starred Mifune, on 10 September 1951 surprisingly won the golden lion at the Venice film festival and was subsequently released in Europe and North America. The commercial and critical success opened up western markets for the first time to the products of the industry, which in turn led to international recognition for other artists. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Kurosawa included a number of highly regarded films, such as Ikiru (1952) and Yojimbo (1961). After the mid-1960s, his much less prolific later work, including his penultimate epic, Kagemusha (1980), continued to win awards, including the Palme d'Or, more often abroad.
In 1990, he accepted the academy award for lifetime achievement. Posthumously, AsianWeek magazine and Cable News Network named him "Asian of the century" in the "arts, literature, and culture" category and cited him as "one of the [five] people who contributed most to the betterment of Asia in the past 100 years."
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 25, 2025
Received this via NetGalley.
An absolutely fascinating read, with several essays and of course his list of 100 films plus commentary and his thoughts on American filmmakers he’s met, among others. It Also included a very moving essay by his daughter.
Gave me even more to watch and now I have to rewatch all his films I’ve seen, and see the ones I haven’t.
A must for any Kurosawa fans.
An absolutely fascinating read, with several essays and of course his list of 100 films plus commentary and his thoughts on American filmmakers he’s met, among others. It Also included a very moving essay by his daughter.
Gave me even more to watch and now I have to rewatch all his films I’ve seen, and see the ones I haven’t.
A must for any Kurosawa fans.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
My thanks to NetGalley and University of Minnesota Press for an advance copy of this collection of articles detailing the life and career of a man who wanted to remain in the shadows letting the work tell the tale, and also sharing his love of movies and the people that made them.
Most people were introduced to the works of the master Akira Kurosawa through his influential and most copied work Seven Samurai. For some reason my first film was High and Low, a crime movie that is more than a crime movie, but a morality tale about what is right, what is wrong, and what we allow ourselves to be corrupted by. This was a common theme for this man, a man whose films ranged from classical samurai, to again crime, to simple days of a man's last days, a professor's influence on students. And of course his dreams. Kurosawa was not one for memoir or biography, starting his own autobiography Something Like an Autobiography late in life, and ending in 1950, before the movies that made him known in the west. Thankfully we have this collection, articles written by the director, articles about the work and his creative process. Even works by his daughter filling in the blanks, channeling the words said casually to be saved on the page for us to enjoy and learn from. Long Take by Akira Kurosawa and translated from the Japanese by Anne McKnight is a look at the works that made the man, the dreams he had of projects unfulfilled, and a look at what it took to make movies, often imitated, or down right stolen, works that still fill people with awe and wonder at what film can do.
The book was originally published in Japan in 1998. This edition has a a new introduction by the translator that is worth the price of the book alone. McKnight looks at Kurosawa's life and influences, clears up some misconceptions and explains the process of the writing and how it came to be. The book is based on articles, one featuring the creation of the classic Seven Samurai, with Kurosawa the screenwriters and a film scholar. Kurosawa discusses the genesis of the story, how it shifted in plot and characters. And how Kurosawa wa able to fool the film company to allow him to finish making the film, when everyone thought it was over and done. Kurosawa writes about the influence of the American director John Ford, the influence the man had on Kurosawa, and about meeting him. Along with Ford Kurosawa discusses other directors, some that surprised me like John Cassavetes, and others, along with getting a special Oscar from George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. There is a list of movies, complied by Kurosawa's daughter, discussions about the lack of looking back at older films, and the works of many Japanese directors lost to time, the war, and studio practices of saving money by destroying film.
A book not only for fans, not only for film lovers but for people interested in creating art. There are sections where Kurosawa discusses where he gained his ideas, how he adapted them, changed them, dealt with things like rain and studio interference. Even being fired, which he did not take well, but learned from. The insight on the films he likes is a class in itself, and one gets a real feeling of the love that Kurosawa had for film, no matter the genre. The translation is quite good, and the book moves quite well, though some stories are repeated, as the appeared in different mediums.
A book I really enjoyed, not just for the time I spent with the director, learning quite a lot from the director, and how hard movie making was and continued to be up until the end of his life. A really interesting book about a great man, about film history, and living and even filming one's dreams.
Most people were introduced to the works of the master Akira Kurosawa through his influential and most copied work Seven Samurai. For some reason my first film was High and Low, a crime movie that is more than a crime movie, but a morality tale about what is right, what is wrong, and what we allow ourselves to be corrupted by. This was a common theme for this man, a man whose films ranged from classical samurai, to again crime, to simple days of a man's last days, a professor's influence on students. And of course his dreams. Kurosawa was not one for memoir or biography, starting his own autobiography Something Like an Autobiography late in life, and ending in 1950, before the movies that made him known in the west. Thankfully we have this collection, articles written by the director, articles about the work and his creative process. Even works by his daughter filling in the blanks, channeling the words said casually to be saved on the page for us to enjoy and learn from. Long Take by Akira Kurosawa and translated from the Japanese by Anne McKnight is a look at the works that made the man, the dreams he had of projects unfulfilled, and a look at what it took to make movies, often imitated, or down right stolen, works that still fill people with awe and wonder at what film can do.
The book was originally published in Japan in 1998. This edition has a a new introduction by the translator that is worth the price of the book alone. McKnight looks at Kurosawa's life and influences, clears up some misconceptions and explains the process of the writing and how it came to be. The book is based on articles, one featuring the creation of the classic Seven Samurai, with Kurosawa the screenwriters and a film scholar. Kurosawa discusses the genesis of the story, how it shifted in plot and characters. And how Kurosawa wa able to fool the film company to allow him to finish making the film, when everyone thought it was over and done. Kurosawa writes about the influence of the American director John Ford, the influence the man had on Kurosawa, and about meeting him. Along with Ford Kurosawa discusses other directors, some that surprised me like John Cassavetes, and others, along with getting a special Oscar from George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. There is a list of movies, complied by Kurosawa's daughter, discussions about the lack of looking back at older films, and the works of many Japanese directors lost to time, the war, and studio practices of saving money by destroying film.
A book not only for fans, not only for film lovers but for people interested in creating art. There are sections where Kurosawa discusses where he gained his ideas, how he adapted them, changed them, dealt with things like rain and studio interference. Even being fired, which he did not take well, but learned from. The insight on the films he likes is a class in itself, and one gets a real feeling of the love that Kurosawa had for film, no matter the genre. The translation is quite good, and the book moves quite well, though some stories are repeated, as the appeared in different mediums.
A book I really enjoyed, not just for the time I spent with the director, learning quite a lot from the director, and how hard movie making was and continued to be up until the end of his life. A really interesting book about a great man, about film history, and living and even filming one's dreams.
January 22, 2026
Many thanks to University of Minnesota Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Long Take, an amazing collection of interviews and reflections by Akira Kurosawa and his daughter, with a clear and fluid translation by Anne McKnight. I actually appreciated McKnight’s description and rationale for her approach to translating words and phrases, while keeping other Japanese terms intact in these interviews. As a fan of Kurosawa’s films, I found this book to be wonderful. I loved hearing from him about his work on films, his approach to stories and direction, and especially learning more about the production and challenges he faced during some of his most iconic works. As McKnight explains in the introduction, the only real words we have from Kurosawa in English are his autobiography, which was translated and published in America in the early 1980s. This book provides a more detailed focus on not just formative experiences and events that helped shape the career of one of the most famous and celebrated directors of all time, but also gives us further insight into his approach to work and how he sees stories that eventually become cinema. There are conversations and interviews in the beginning of the book that range from 1970 up until 1993, which covers a wide range of Kurosawa’s later work, but where he also discusses his earlier work. Some of the conversations include similar memories and events, so there are some moments of repetition in the book (especially if you read the introduction as well). However, it’s still fascinating to read Kurosawa’s words about his work with actors and extras, and how he viewed film crews as like families. I also loved learning more about how meticulous he was about color, light, and shots, frequently mentioning how challenging it was to capture certain shots at different times of day. In addition to his own work, Kurosawa frequently talks about other directors throughout the book, discussing in particular the influence of John Ford and how he was able to meet John Ford later in the American director’s life. There are some interesting stories that Kurosawa shares.
While I loved reading these discussions and interviews with Kurosawa to learn more about his artistic process and his thoughts about literature and film, some of the best moments are also from his daughter, Kazuko, who includes a farewell essay to her father exploring memories of being on film sets with him. However, the standout for me was her compilation of Kurosawa’s top one hundred films, chronologically arranged. As McKnight noted in the introduction, much of Kurosawa’s autobiography discusses early films that influenced him, particularly from the silent era. This collection includes many films that were made by Kurosawa’s contemporaries and some films from the 70s, 80s, and 90s when Kurosawa’s output had slowed. The list is great to have. He provides some details, often citing other works from these directors that he enjoys, and briefly identifying what factors from the film led to its inclusion on his list. It was really fun to read, and I’m sure that I will revisit this list to find some classics that I haven’t yet watched. Furthermore, reading about his films made me want to revisit some of my favorite Kurosawa films. This is a great book for film fans, and if you are a fan of Kurosawa, then this book is a must read. The interviews are easy and quick reads, yet offer a lot of interesting insights into Kurosawa’s art and work, and McKnight’s translation adds to a smooth and engaging read. Highly recommended!
While I loved reading these discussions and interviews with Kurosawa to learn more about his artistic process and his thoughts about literature and film, some of the best moments are also from his daughter, Kazuko, who includes a farewell essay to her father exploring memories of being on film sets with him. However, the standout for me was her compilation of Kurosawa’s top one hundred films, chronologically arranged. As McKnight noted in the introduction, much of Kurosawa’s autobiography discusses early films that influenced him, particularly from the silent era. This collection includes many films that were made by Kurosawa’s contemporaries and some films from the 70s, 80s, and 90s when Kurosawa’s output had slowed. The list is great to have. He provides some details, often citing other works from these directors that he enjoys, and briefly identifying what factors from the film led to its inclusion on his list. It was really fun to read, and I’m sure that I will revisit this list to find some classics that I haven’t yet watched. Furthermore, reading about his films made me want to revisit some of my favorite Kurosawa films. This is a great book for film fans, and if you are a fan of Kurosawa, then this book is a must read. The interviews are easy and quick reads, yet offer a lot of interesting insights into Kurosawa’s art and work, and McKnight’s translation adds to a smooth and engaging read. Highly recommended!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Long Take, a book of collected essays from famed director Akira Kurosawa, now comes to us in audio form!
Once again we have a case of me picking up an audiobook like, "Haha, I've somehow never watched/listened to anything from this artist, let's see what they're about." (I know, right! I just don't watch a lot of movies.) But, like what often happens in these cases, I come out with a LIST of things to watch/listen to, etc. (Speaking of lists, included in this book is a list of Kurosawa' 100 top films!)
The essays are a mix of personally written, interviews, and also ends with a few from his daughter on his influence and also, her perception of him and his work. It was varied enough to keep interesting (especially learning how he addressed certain people he worked with a lot), and things I'll think about when I invariably, FINALLY, watch a Kurosawa film - there's a part in one of the interviews where they're all talking about how it's hard to make jidai geki (like historical films) nowadays because of the rapidly changing landscape, because of the quick evolution of man ("Japanese people's hands and feet are longer now!" "you need someone with a wide face to play someone in a jidai geki"), even how it's hard to find horses, and train people to run the same way... it's a really interesting look at an era that's harder and harder to reproduce. Really interesting stuff!
The only downside (more broadly) is that some terms aren't translated - and while I know what they are, someone who's an average listener who doesn't know any Japanese may be confused or not get enough context clues. I'm not sure if the written version has any footnotes or glossary, but this surprised me when I realized. The narrator, Kaipo Schwab, as well is a very Alex Trebek style of narrating - actually they have a similar speaking cadence as well. He's someone that can pronounce a good chunk of what's given to him, but it doesn't really sound natural. Don't get me wrong, I'll definitely take that over some more egregious mispronunciations I've heard lately! It's hard too when speaking fully in English and then you need to slip in a name or term in a non-English-similar language, of course it's always going to sound a little unnatural. It's not bad at all, and he obviously got direction or had the background knowledge already... so cute to hear "Mifune-chan" though, like, imagine calling the great Toshiro Mifune, handsome and with such presence, like that...
There are a couple "old man squints at cloud" moments (like in the first essay, talking about being in downtown Tokyo and seeing youths with colored hair like "is that a boy or a girl or even a Japanese person" ok grandpa let's get you back to bed... but nothing that I remember at least in listening that's offensive or anything, just kinda.. "okay, well, anyway."
Enjoyable, informative, and definitely had me appreciating Kurosawa a lot more. Now to get on that TBW...
Thank you to Tantor Media and NetGalley for the ALC for review!
Once again we have a case of me picking up an audiobook like, "Haha, I've somehow never watched/listened to anything from this artist, let's see what they're about." (I know, right! I just don't watch a lot of movies.) But, like what often happens in these cases, I come out with a LIST of things to watch/listen to, etc. (Speaking of lists, included in this book is a list of Kurosawa' 100 top films!)
The essays are a mix of personally written, interviews, and also ends with a few from his daughter on his influence and also, her perception of him and his work. It was varied enough to keep interesting (especially learning how he addressed certain people he worked with a lot), and things I'll think about when I invariably, FINALLY, watch a Kurosawa film - there's a part in one of the interviews where they're all talking about how it's hard to make jidai geki (like historical films) nowadays because of the rapidly changing landscape, because of the quick evolution of man ("Japanese people's hands and feet are longer now!" "you need someone with a wide face to play someone in a jidai geki"), even how it's hard to find horses, and train people to run the same way... it's a really interesting look at an era that's harder and harder to reproduce. Really interesting stuff!
The only downside (more broadly) is that some terms aren't translated - and while I know what they are, someone who's an average listener who doesn't know any Japanese may be confused or not get enough context clues. I'm not sure if the written version has any footnotes or glossary, but this surprised me when I realized. The narrator, Kaipo Schwab, as well is a very Alex Trebek style of narrating - actually they have a similar speaking cadence as well. He's someone that can pronounce a good chunk of what's given to him, but it doesn't really sound natural. Don't get me wrong, I'll definitely take that over some more egregious mispronunciations I've heard lately! It's hard too when speaking fully in English and then you need to slip in a name or term in a non-English-similar language, of course it's always going to sound a little unnatural. It's not bad at all, and he obviously got direction or had the background knowledge already... so cute to hear "Mifune-chan" though, like, imagine calling the great Toshiro Mifune, handsome and with such presence, like that...
There are a couple "old man squints at cloud" moments (like in the first essay, talking about being in downtown Tokyo and seeing youths with colored hair like "is that a boy or a girl or even a Japanese person" ok grandpa let's get you back to bed... but nothing that I remember at least in listening that's offensive or anything, just kinda.. "okay, well, anyway."
Enjoyable, informative, and definitely had me appreciating Kurosawa a lot more. Now to get on that TBW...
Thank you to Tantor Media and NetGalley for the ALC for review!
September 18, 2025
Long Take by Akira Kurosawa is a fascinating look at both the renowned director and film itself (through his lens).
Reading this will take the reader in many directions, and I would suggest taking the time to explore in each of those directions. You will certainly want to rewatch some of his films but you will also find yourself wanting to watch, or rewatch, many films by other directors or that have certain actors. I found that by taking breaks to watch a film here and there made the book so much more fun and informative. You obviously can't watch everything but pick one that seemed to capture the gist of his discussion and watch it, then return to the same section with the film fresh in your mind.
I think you almost have to have some familiarity with both his oeuvre and film history more generally to really appreciate this book, but if you have either one without the other it will still be well worth your time. This isn't the best book to serve as an introduction to Kurosawa but you also don't need to know his work inside out. Even if you only know a couple of his major films that will give you a good foundation to understand his views on filmmaking.
While he has a lot of strong opinions he comes across, to me at least, as understanding that opinions differ. This gives the reader space to disagree with some things he might think, though I didn't find much beyond what could be accounted for by the different periods and cultures in which we came of age. What usually happened was that I was given a different perspective through which to see things, whether John Ford films or Kurosawa's own, and thus added to my take on them.
Because this is a collection of interviews and interview essays it can easily be read in bits, which makes my desire to watch some film while reading a lot easier, I wasn't disrupting the flow of the book when I might take a day or two to follow one of the paths he opened up for me. It also means that if you're a reader who has short snippets of time to read this will work very well for you.
Highly recommended for those with a deep interest in and love for film, and certainly for any fans of Kurosawa. This would be an excellent companion if you wanted to explore Japanese film and how it has evolved over the years.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
Reading this will take the reader in many directions, and I would suggest taking the time to explore in each of those directions. You will certainly want to rewatch some of his films but you will also find yourself wanting to watch, or rewatch, many films by other directors or that have certain actors. I found that by taking breaks to watch a film here and there made the book so much more fun and informative. You obviously can't watch everything but pick one that seemed to capture the gist of his discussion and watch it, then return to the same section with the film fresh in your mind.
I think you almost have to have some familiarity with both his oeuvre and film history more generally to really appreciate this book, but if you have either one without the other it will still be well worth your time. This isn't the best book to serve as an introduction to Kurosawa but you also don't need to know his work inside out. Even if you only know a couple of his major films that will give you a good foundation to understand his views on filmmaking.
While he has a lot of strong opinions he comes across, to me at least, as understanding that opinions differ. This gives the reader space to disagree with some things he might think, though I didn't find much beyond what could be accounted for by the different periods and cultures in which we came of age. What usually happened was that I was given a different perspective through which to see things, whether John Ford films or Kurosawa's own, and thus added to my take on them.
Because this is a collection of interviews and interview essays it can easily be read in bits, which makes my desire to watch some film while reading a lot easier, I wasn't disrupting the flow of the book when I might take a day or two to follow one of the paths he opened up for me. It also means that if you're a reader who has short snippets of time to read this will work very well for you.
Highly recommended for those with a deep interest in and love for film, and certainly for any fans of Kurosawa. This would be an excellent companion if you wanted to explore Japanese film and how it has evolved over the years.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
Read
February 5, 2026“[Film] is an animate object that assembles many details and parts from different literal species of sources, but in the end when it is assembled can only be itself.” -p.xx
“In Kurosawa world, the conceit of the dream is that the past can erupt at any given moment into the living present, and you have a relation to it because it is already living.” -p.xxvii
“I often tell my crew that it's worth making an all-out effort in the preparation stage of a film, even where things can get tedious. I say this most often to people working in areas with a lot of little details like costume or props—even if it can be downright boring at times, try to make a genuine effort. As you work intensely, over time it will start to become more enjoyable. Because it's enjoyable you'll put in a lot of effort, which makes for a real commitment. The process of making gets to be enjoyable. Even as you're grinding through things that seem trivial, you will find yourself enjoying the work. You know the work has meaning behind it, so you can truly feel it is enjoyable. And when you do, you find yourself working hard, without even thinking about it. You might not be able to will yourself into working hard, but if you can find it enjoyable without thinking about it, that is real work. It's all about never treating anything like it actually is trivial.” -p.42~43
"You can't just stay feeling sad forever. Anyway, you have to get things done for those who are living. Okay, let's eat and go to sleep." -p.162
“In Kurosawa world, the conceit of the dream is that the past can erupt at any given moment into the living present, and you have a relation to it because it is already living.” -p.xxvii
“I often tell my crew that it's worth making an all-out effort in the preparation stage of a film, even where things can get tedious. I say this most often to people working in areas with a lot of little details like costume or props—even if it can be downright boring at times, try to make a genuine effort. As you work intensely, over time it will start to become more enjoyable. Because it's enjoyable you'll put in a lot of effort, which makes for a real commitment. The process of making gets to be enjoyable. Even as you're grinding through things that seem trivial, you will find yourself enjoying the work. You know the work has meaning behind it, so you can truly feel it is enjoyable. And when you do, you find yourself working hard, without even thinking about it. You might not be able to will yourself into working hard, but if you can find it enjoyable without thinking about it, that is real work. It's all about never treating anything like it actually is trivial.” -p.42~43
"You can't just stay feeling sad forever. Anyway, you have to get things done for those who are living. Okay, let's eat and go to sleep." -p.162
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I did not know that this work by Kurosawa existed, and I’m so glad it has been translated.
I loved reading Kurosawa’s insight into how some of his movies were filmed. One thing that got my attention was the differences he felt in cinema from the days of his masterpieces to when the interview was made. I think some of those differences still exist today, while we have entirely new situations.
Kurosawa’s interest in John Ford movies and how he interacted with them was also interesting. I need to do a new watch with his insights in my mind. It was also interesting to read his opinions on Hollywood vs Japanese cinema, which I think some of them may apply to this day too.
I think the translation made by Anne McKnight was excellent, and I loved the choices in translation. I am grateful for the translator’s notes too.
Finally, the last essays of the book by Kurosawa Kazuko felt emotional at times, and also like a good ending. I appreciated them as well.
Huge thanks to Netgalley and University of Minnesota Press for this advanced reader's copy.
I loved reading Kurosawa’s insight into how some of his movies were filmed. One thing that got my attention was the differences he felt in cinema from the days of his masterpieces to when the interview was made. I think some of those differences still exist today, while we have entirely new situations.
Kurosawa’s interest in John Ford movies and how he interacted with them was also interesting. I need to do a new watch with his insights in my mind. It was also interesting to read his opinions on Hollywood vs Japanese cinema, which I think some of them may apply to this day too.
I think the translation made by Anne McKnight was excellent, and I loved the choices in translation. I am grateful for the translator’s notes too.
Finally, the last essays of the book by Kurosawa Kazuko felt emotional at times, and also like a good ending. I appreciated them as well.
Huge thanks to Netgalley and University of Minnesota Press for this advanced reader's copy.
February 5, 2026
One way to think of this book is as a file folder containing several documents of different origins, but all relating to Kurosawa's immersion in movies and the making of movies. Among them you'll find Kurosawa conversing with long time friends in informal and wide ranging ways. As with the rest of the book, overall themes appear, such as funding or the state of the industry . Unexpected tidbits add interest and enjoyment. Their are memories shared by his daughter Kurosawa Kazuko as well as the list of 100 movies Kurosawa would screen if he had had his own theater. A sense of the man accumulates through the glimpses of his working life. Anne McKnight provides an informative forward and very extensive notes. She sheds light on the process of translation which was very welcome.
I received a digital advanced copy of this book compliments of the University of Minnesota Press and NetGalley
I received a digital advanced copy of this book compliments of the University of Minnesota Press and NetGalley
December 27, 2025
A unique look into the thoughts of the acclaimed director. Not only does Kurosawa go into the making of many of his own films, he also discusses films that he found influential and lists his favorite movies.
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